A Royal Arrangement
by ice illuser
Summary: AU. The war between the dragons and mazokou has dragged on so long that even the eldest can not remember when it began. However, even when the two royal families are bound together, can peace be created?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I really wish I owned Slayers, then I would be at the very least a millionaire…but I'm not, so I don't own Slayers.

A/N: This is my first Slayers fic, and first AU fic so please go easy on me! Perhaps it's a bit of a cliché plot, but we'll see by the end, right? Please enjoy!

--

Filia screamed for her squad to retreat, "Back, back! Come on all of you, get back! Fall back!"

With a flash of gold, all the golden dragons turned and began to make their flight back to the fortified castle, with the mazokou hot in pursuit.

Filia opened her mouth, blasted the pursuers with a golden beam, then joined her squad in retreating.

--

Tying up the bandage on her arm, she asked, "So…what happened?"

Val, her older brother, sighed, and ran his hand through his aqua hair, "We managed to push them back a bit, but other than that, it's more or less the same."

Filia clenched her fists, "It just drags on like this, our war with the mazokou. More people die everyday, and still everything stays the same."

Val nodded, eyes closed, "It's been so long that no one remembers what even started the war. But as you know, there's no way to end this war yet."

"I wish all those filthy mazokou would just die! That would solve everything!" Filia cried out angrily.

"Maybe…or maybe not," said Val shrugging.

"It would!" Filia stated defiantly, "Then there wouldn't be a war, and then we could actually have peace and _do _something besides wage war all the time!"

Val smirked, "And what would you have in mind to do if there was no war? Prance around sipping tea?"

Filia put her nose into her air, "If there was no war, I would become the best potter in the land!"

Val laughed, "Oh, that's rich, the princess of the dragons becoming a potter!"

"What, you think I can't do it?"

Val shook his head, "No, no, it's just…well, you know that as princess, you have to keep up appearances. Besides…this war is all we have known since we were born. It would probably be hard for all to adjust if the war simply ended."

Filia sighed, and stood up, "Don't I know it. It's time, isn't it?"

Val's mouth set into a grim line, "Yeah, it's time."

--

"Good work, Xellos," drawled a tan lady sprawled out on the stone throne, sipping a glass of wine.

The smiling purple haired mazokou bowed deeply, "I am honored, Zelas-sama."

Zelas flicked a strand of hair away from her face, "Don't act so modest Xellos, it doesn't suit you."

Xellos rose, still smiling, "As you wish Zelas-sama."

Zelas took a long sip of her wine, and then addressed Xellos again, "You have already sent spies then, to keep us informed?"

"Hai Zelas-sama, I have sent some underlings to observe the unveiling of the former, now deceased dragon king's final wish."

"I don't understand that old faurt," said Zelas examining her wine glass, "He died about a year ago, and then he tells his kids to open his will when his daughter comes of age. That guy is insane."

"That he was," said Xellos nodding.

Zelas rolled her eyes, "Xellos cut it out with the annoying act, you never completely agree with me, or I'll throw this glass at you, no matter the fact that this is good wine."

"Lord of Nightmare forbid that you should waste good wine!" exclaimed Xellos.

"That's more like it, so give me your opinion."

Xellos nodded and said, "The former dragon king was an extremely good general, but he didn't seem to completely focused on our war. He seemed to think that there was some way to end this war, besides just one of the sides killing the other off. And you must admit that he died quite mysteriously. The whole situation was just a bit…odd."

"Oh yes," said Zelas idly sipping the wine, "one day the old faurt is perfectly fine, actually managing to decimate one of our more special troops…which was it again?"

"The Stealth Corps," supplied Xellos.

"Yeah, those. He goes ahead and destroys those, and then one day he just turns up dead in his bed, and the Ancient Dragon brat goes ahead and inherits the throne. But that brat couldn't have killed the old faurt off, because the old faurt did adopt the brat."

"The dragons didn't react very well," noted Xellos, "they wanted a golden dragon on the throne, the way it's been for awhile."

Zelas shrugged, "The old faurt had a daughter, obviously, but she was too young back then to even take the throne in the first place. And now she is of age, but she seems perfectly content to let her brother rule. Of course, that could all change when his will is opened."

"One must wonder what he put in there that is so important that they put a seal on it…" Xellos mused.

Zelas sighed, and downed the rest of her drink, "Knowing that stupid old faurt, it won't be anything funny. Too bad…I still kind of daydream that he stuffed some nice ancient wine in there. It would have been so much fun to steal it…"

--

Saichoro bowed when Val and Filia entered, "Ah, you two have finally arrived. Come now, hime-sama, you must release the seal on your father's will…"

Val hung back as he watched Filia step up to the small wooden box carved with protective runes, kneel down, and put her hand on the lid. Her eyes flashed gold, and the box creaked open ominously. She waved her hand over the box to ensure there were no more spells, and then carefully handed the box to Val.

He carefully took the age worn paper from the box and read it out loud, "My dear children, if you are reading this, then it is evident that I am dead. However it also must mean that my deal with the Lord of Nightmares has been settled. You two must be wondering what I am speaking of, so I will state it as simply as I can, although it may be a shock…."

_Kinpaku steadily walked into the dark temple of the Lord of Nightmares, and bowed when he reached the alter. "Great Lord of Nightmares, you who created the four worlds must know of our plight. The dragons and mazokou have been warring for a forgotten number of years, for no remembered reason. This war has taken so many lives…I have seen many of my friends fall, as well as my wife. I…don't want my children have to live through the bloodshed that has become our way of life. L-sama…please answer my prayer, and grant to us peace."_

_There was a long silence, but Kinpaku stood there stubbornly. _

_Suddenly a ghostly woman with long blond hair appeared, "And why should I bother with that? It is entertaining to watch all of you fight during your short lives…"_

_Kinpaku bowed even lower, "Great Golden Lord…it may be entertaining for you to watch us, but the same thing for so many years, must become boring…"_

_The Lord of Nightmares simply examined her hand, "So it may," she agreed, with a bored tone, "but there is simply not enough incentive for me to take the trouble to change anything."_

"_And what would be enough incentive for you to change this war?"_

_The Lord of Nightmares looked him in the eye, "…such a foolish dragon, to call upon me. But it has been so long since I have talked to anyone, so let me tell you this. The only way the dragons and mazokou may be at peace with each other is if the royal families were combined."_

_Kinpaku looked up, horrified, "Combined! By that, She Floats Like Gold Upon the Sea of Chaos, do mean…married?"_

"_Well that is the only way I know of."_

"_But such a union…would it ever work out? No sane dragon or mazokou would agree to it!"_

"_No. So it would have to be an arranged marriage. You have a daughter that is around the same age as Zelas' son…"_

_Kinpaku stared at his hands, "Is this the only way?"_

"_Yes."_

_Kinpaku paused, and then asked, "What would be your price, Lord of Dreams that Terrify, to enforce this marriage?"_

_The Lord of Nightmares smirked, "It will make a very interesting play, so I will keep the price low. The price would be your life."_

_Kinpaku closed his eyes, "How would I die?"_

_The Lord of Nightmares shrugged, "Peacefully I suppose. You will be sucked into the Sea of Chaos."_

_Kinpaku bowed his head, "Then I accept."_

"…that is what happened that day, so Filia my dear; I must beg you to honor my last request. Marry Xellos Metallium, and end this war. I am sorry to force this upon you, my daughter, but it must be done. The Lord of Nightmares will keep her end of her deal, so…good luck."

There was silence in the great hall, before Saichoro coughed and said, "Ou-sama…please do not joke around, this is a serious matter. Please read what the will really says."

Val looked up, his face stricken, "That _is _what it says."

And it was at that instance the chaos began.

"_What? _Our princess? Given in marriage to the mazokou prince! No way in hell!"

"Damn right! Xellos Metallium of all people, he slaughtered half of our army! Our former king must have not been right in his mind to do such a thing!"

"The stinking mazokou might just devour hime-sama if they even got close to each other!"

During the screaming voices of protests, no one noticed Val or a small mazokou quickly walking away.

--

Zelas spit out her wine, _"What!"_

The small mazokou quickly bowed again, "It as I said, Zelas-Metallium-sama, the former golden dragon king made a deal with the Lord of Nightmares for peace, which requires Xellos-sama to be married to the dragon princess—"

Zelas threw her wineglass at him. He quickly ducked, as the glass shattered against the wall, dripping red wine, "I know what you said, you fool. Get away from my sight."

As the underling scuttled away, Xellos appeared. "My, my, such destruction Zelas-sama…what was it? Did he insult your deplorable taste in clothing?"

Zelas whirled upon him, "That old faurt made a deal with the Lord of Nightmares. You have to marry that golden dragon princess."

Xellos' perpetual smiled dropped, "_What!"_

"Precisely my reaction," said Zelas, conjuring up another glass, "and there's no way out of this mess. The deal with the Mother of All was sealed when she took that old faurt's life."

Xellos slumped down, "…well then. What's your plan Zelas-sama?"

"I don't have one," replied Zelas gulping down the wine, "no one tries to break something the Mother of All wants in place if they want to live."

"So…I'm getting married?"

"Well, think of it this way. At least your wife's going to be pretty," replied Zelas morosely, filling another glass with wine.

--

Val slammed his fist on the table, "What the hell is going on Gaav! Why the hell would L-sama make a deal for a wedding of all things!"

The red haired dark lord sighed, "How am I supposed to know? The Mother of All likes to be kept entertained, and who knows how much entertainment this is giving her."

Val tugged his aqua hair, "What the hell! I don't care about how much she likes to be kept entertained, I want my sister to be out of this deal!"

Gaav shook his head, "Better stop that talk, she could strike you where you stand…anyway, there's no way out of a deal with the Mother of All after she's extracted the price. Sorry Val, your sister is going to have to marry Xellos."

"…I hate this. What is this Xellos guy like anyway?"

Gaav laughed, "You mean besides the fact that he decimated half of your army?"

Val glared at him, "I mean it Gaav."

"Sometimes you just can't take a joke Val," said Gaav sighing, "alright. Xellos Metallium. He's got purple hair, a perpetually smiling face, and likes to say, 'Now that's a secret'. If you want personality, he acts pretty stupid and cheerful most of the time, but he really just likes to manipulate people."

Val groaned, and buried his face in his hands, "Just great, my sister has to marry a manipulative two-faced mazokou, and I can't do anything about it."

Gaav sighed and pulled out a bottle, "Want a drink?"

"Sure, why not?" asked Val, harshly letting out a bark of laughter, "Maybe something will make sense after it."

--

Filia sat staring at the wall stonily, ignoring the pleas coming from the other side of her door.

"Filia? Filia? Open up this damn door, or else I swear I'm going to fire ball—"

"Lina-san, don't do that! It'll make her feel worse! Filia-san, please open this door, we just want to talk—"

"We already tried pleading for her to open the door, and it's not working! Come on, just move a bit Amelia, and then I can blast the thing to—"

"No!"

Filia blocked her ears. _…so this is why father wanted me to come of age before reading his last wish. Damn him. Damn him to hell. **Damn him and L-sama to hell! **Did they ever think about what I want? I don't want them to decide who I will marry, especially not some filthy mazokou! _

…_but I also want peace, and the Lord of Nightmares said that the only way there would ever be peace would be if the royal families were combined. And if this is the only way…then it would be selfish of me. It would be selfish of me to put what I want before everyone else. And that is what it means to be royalty. To put everyone's desires before your own._

She threw open the doors, where a red haired girl and a black haired stopped arguing.

"Good, you finally opened the door! Now Filia—"

Filia interrupted, "Announce to Saichoro that we will have to travel soon."

Lina raised an eyebrow, "You're running away? Filia, I don't think that's a good idea—"

"I'm not running away," said Filia, shaking her head, "We will also have to contact the mazokou."

Amelia's face showed concern, "Why?"

"Because we have a wedding to plan."

--

A/N: Alright, I made up the name of Filia's dad, since I couldn't find the name anywhere. Anyway…what did you think? Please review! And all flames will be bounced back.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Of course I wish I owned Slayers, but that is just a dream unfortunately.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I had sudden inspiration so I had to write some one-shots first…but here's the update.

--

Xellos pulled some books off the shelf, and commented, "I never thought of myself as someone who would get married. I thought of myself as more of a debonair, mysterious, bachelor."

Zelgadis snorted, and began to frantically cough in an effort to cover up his derision.

"Do you disagree, Zelgadis?" asked Xellos, happily smiling.

"No," Zelgadis quickly answered through gritted teeth.

"Of course you disagree with me," contradicted Xellos, still smiling, "In fact, you despise me."

Zelgadis mentally restrained himself from screaming that yes, he hated the grinning mazokou.

"Perfectly understandable," continued Xellos, closing another trunk, "since the weak always envy the strong. After all, the only reason you took a job on the mazokou side is because you want the Claire Bible."

Zelagadis' hands clenched into fists, "What is your point?" he asked harshly.

"Oh, none. Can't you take a few friendly questions, Zelgadis?" asked Xellos, grinning.

_Do not let him get to you, do not let him get to you, _chanted Zelgadis in his head, _do not let him get to you…_

Xellos chuckled happily; _in any case, at least I can feed off of the negative emotions of Zelgadis. Ah Zelas-sama, I'm eternally in your debt since you gave me such a plentiful supply of food…_

--

Filia began to nod off as she listened to Lina laid out her plan, "Alright Filia, you better listen to me. I still say that agreeing to this whole mess is the stupidest thing you've ever done, but since you're the princess, I can't reject your plans. So anyway, here's our plan for our meeting with the mazokou. You're going to act all royal and princessy, and stuff, and ignore all the guards that are posted around. If the mazokou that you're supposed to marry, Xale or something, pisses you off, you have got to act calm and everything. Fire back a scathing comment about him if you like, but do not, I repeat _do not _freak out and hit him over the head with the mace. If it gets really out of hand, we'll step in—are you even _listening?_"

Filia quickly looked up and nodded, "Oh yes Lina. Please do carry on."

Lina angrily sighed, "Filia, this is important, alright? You have to make a good impression on the mazokou, because otherwise they'll never accept you."

"It doesn't matter whether or not they accept me, does it? If the Lord of Nightmares decrees it, even they can not go against her will."

"That won't stop some people from making trouble! You have to make a good strong impression no matter what, understand?" lectured Lina, angrily snapping off a few fireballs and scorching some portraits for good measure.

"Yes Lina," replied Filia, sighing. She was very used to her bodyguard by now.

"Good. Okay, now I'm more or less sure that there's going to be a party of some sort so you'll have to dance…"

Filia slumped over as she listened more to Lina's long droning of plans.

--

Smoothing out the skirt of her pale yellow ceremonial dress, Filia chewed her lip. Despite the fact that once Lina got started on laying out her plans, one felt the need to sleep, those plans were generally very good. Right now she would have been very happy to know what those plans had been. Drumming her fingers against the table, she considered how screwed she might be. _The mazokou definitely can't attack me, because first there are guards, then I can fight, and then there's Val. On the other hand…I have to talk to that mazokou prince. What was his name again? Something that started with an 'X'…_

"Xale? No, that was what Lina said it was…Xella? Too girly, but it sounds close…"

"What are you doing?"

She looked up, and in front of her was a grinning purple haired man. She stared at him for a few seconds, before carefully saying, "…how did you get in here?"

If possible, his grin grew even wider, "Now that's a secret!"

Filia nodded slowly, unsure of what to do. On one hand, this guy could be a dangerous spy/assassin so she should either attack him or scream for help. On the other hand, he seemed a little bit too…what was the word for it…ah, fruity to come even close to being a threat.

"Aren't you about to ask me why I'm here? My, my, it's just as I thought, dragons really are lazy idiots," said the purple haired man, still smiling cheerfully.

Filia shot up, her eyes blazing with consternation, _did he just…! No, he couldn't have just insulted me, along with the entire race of dragons; no one is stupid enough to do that!_

"Ah, and I will take your silence as an agreement. Well then, now that I have properly judged the quality of dragons, I must be on my way, goodbye then!" he happily waved, and suddenly vanished.

Filia could feel her tail twisting in angry knots, _that, that…there isn't even a word to describe that man! He is beyond annoying, or even detestable, he is a, a, a, **namagomi!**_

Amelia quietly walked into the room, "Filia-san, here's the ribbons and jewelry and…" she trailed off and sweatdropped at the sight of the dragon princess bashing the window sill repeatedly with her mace. "Filia-san? Are you alright?"

"Perfectly, totally, and completely fine Amelia," said Filia, still twitching as she put away the mace, "Why do you ask?"

Amelia sighed, and began twisting the blue ribbons into Filia's golden hair, "No reason I suppose, it's normal to be nervous before meeting someone for the first time, that you're supposed to marry. But hopefully he'll be alright, right Filia-san?"

"He's a mazokou Amelia," Filia said with a tone of finality as she clasped the gold necklace around her neck, "none of them are 'alright'."

--

"…do you feel alright Filia?" asked Val, leading her towards the meeting room.

"What do you think Val?"

"…I'm sorry, for allowing all this—" Val began, but Filia shook her head.

"There's nothing to be sorry for. You couldn't go against L-sama anyway, so don't worry about it. The only person that I'm angry at is father, and the only reason I'm angry at him is because he never told either of us. However, if this marriage will bring peace, then I can't argue with that," Filia explained, staring straight ahead, as the intricately carved wooden doors loomed closer.

"Still, I'm your older brother," said Val, glaring at the doors, "and if that Xellos guy hurts you, there's going to be hell to pay."

"Heh, I feel reassured," replied Filia smiling as she opened the doors and abruptly froze.

"Why hello Filia-hime!" Xellos called out, sipping some wine, "Why don't you join me?"

"…_namagomi!" _Filia screeched as she hurled herself at him with her mace drawn.

Xellos easily dodged it by teleporting to the other side of the room, but his eyes narrowed, "_Namagomi?" _hetwitched slightly, but then called out, "Well, better a namagomi than a raging dragon who has no knowledge whatsoever!"

Filia's tail popped out, and she began wave the mace around maniacally, "_Don't you dare call dragons stupid, namagomi!"_

"I never said that dragons are stupid did I? Obviously they must also jump to many conclusions without thinking as well, and _stop calling me that."_

"I'll call you whatever I want to, _namagomi!" _Filia screamed at him, as Lina ran in and restrained her.

"Are you _out of your mind!" _frantically whispered Lina, "Didn't I _tell _you not to lose your temper with this guy? Ah, ha," she said, turning and smiling before Xellos, "Filia-hime is a little bit…tired from her trip today, so you will excuse her strange behavior?"

Xellos smiled, "Of course I will! Dragons must travel a lot then, since most of the time that I have seen them they have been very violent, just like Filia-hime in fact."

Filia lunged for his head, but Lina had already begun dragging her away, "Well then, we will see you at dinner Xellos-ouji."

As the door slammed shut, Xellos chuckled. "Well, that went well, don't you think Zelgadis?"

The chimera carefully stepped out from behind a large clock, "…is she gone?"

"For a bodyguard you have no courage. What would you have done if she had actually harmed me?"

Zelgadis gave him a blank stare, "I'm sure you could take of yourself, you didn't get hit by her this time did you?"

Xellos sighed and shook his head, "At the rate you're going Zelgadis, we will have to add more time before we'll even be able to consider letting you have a look at the Claire Bible."

Before Zelgadis had time to explode, the doors burst open, and in walked Val who was glaring daggers at Xellos.

Xellos grinned at him, "Why hello Val-ou! What can we do for you?"

Val grabbed Xellos by the collar and slammed him into the wall, "You bastard," he growled out, "If you're going to marry my sister, you better at least act remotely polite to her. If you don't I'll claw your intestines out."

Xellos shrugged, "It's not my fault if your sister hates all mazokou, on my part however, I find her a delectable supply of food."

"I don't care if you're the mazokou prince or anything else, if you hurt my sister I will—"

Xellos easily pried Val's fingers off from his collar, "What will you do Val-ou? Go to Gaav and ask for some help? Oh yes, I already know all about your meetings with Gaav," he commented as Val paled, "do you think our spies are that incompetent?"

"…and what are you going to do with this information, Metallium?" Val spat out venomously.

"Oh that depends. Nothing for now of course, there would be no point. But I would hope that you would stop threatening me, Val-ou."

"Fine. But it won't matter what you have over me if you hurt Filia, Metallium. My little sister deserves a lot better than this, but if she has to go through this she will at least have a damn husband that treats her well, _do you understand?"_

Xellos once again shrugged, picking up a wine glass and filling it, "Ancient dragons were very powerful of course, so I suppose you could fight me if you wished…I will keep that in mind Val-ou."

"Good," Val said, as he slammed the doors shut behind him.

"My, my, those two have a lot in common…tempers must be very predominant in dragons," commented Xellos as he sipped the wine.

"Anyone's temper would be stretched to the breaking point around you," muttered Zelgadis darkly.

"Of course, you once again failed in your duties as a bodyguard Zelgadis," said Xellos, ignoring Zelgadis' comment, "remind me to add more time until you get the Claire Bible."

_Do not kill him, do not kill him, do not kill him, _repeated Zelgadis in his head, as he tried to keep his hands from strangling the grinning mazokou.

--

"You are such an idiot!" screamed Lina as she paced around the room, "I specifically told you not to lose your temper, and what do you do? You completely lose it, and chase the mazokou prince around the entire room with your mace!"

"He insulted the entire race of dragons!" Filia yelled back.

"You didn't expect that to happen? Of course he would insult you, he's a mazokou, and mazokou feed off of negative emotions!"

"Well, maybe Xellos-ouji will like Filia-san then, because she has a lot of negative emotions around him?" suggested Amelia timidly.

Two angry females glared at her, "_That's not the point!"_

Amelia quickly ran off in search of Gourry to at least calm down one of the raging females.

"I can't just let him insult my entire family and people!"

"Yes you can and will! This isn't about pride or anything; it's about creating a good impression!"

"Like you can talk Lina, you have more pride than most dragons!"

Lina's eyes flashed, "Fire—"

A blond man carefully put a hand on her shoulder, "Um Lina I don't think it's a good idea to fire off something like that in the castle—"

"—Ball!" Lina screeched hurling the raging ball of fire at him instead.

As Lina took her temper out on Gourry, Amelia quickly ushered Filia away, "Lina-san is right though, Filia-san," Amelia quietly commented, "you can't really afford to lose your temper with Xellos-ouji."

Filia ran her fingers through her hair, "I know. But L-sama damnit, I hate _that mazokou."_

"Things will work out in the end!" replied Amelia optimistically.

"I hope, since everything hangs in balance with you marrying that mazokou," said Lina finally finished blasting everything, with Gourry a bit smoking, but otherwise no worse off than usual.

--

A/N: Please review! Oh and, I might not be able to update for awhile because I have to go to Australia for two weeks, but oh well.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I really wish that I owned Slayers, but I obviously don't.

A/N: Sorry for not updating sooner, but first I went off to Australia, and then I wanted to write some one-shots and finally update my Unohana/Zaraki fic. And then school started… But anyway, here's the update.

--

"You are not bringing that into the ball," said Lina firmly, tugging the mace away from Filia, "especially not after that fiasco of a first meeting."

Filia grabbed at her ace desperately, "I need my mace! If someone attacks me, how am I supposed to defend myself?"

"You don't need to defend yourself at the stupid ball," replied Lina, rolling the mace to Gourry, "number one, someone would have to be pretty stupid to attack you at the ball. Number two, you'll have all of the guard with you, so even if an idiot attacks you, you'll have an army with you. Gourry, hide that mace!"

The blond swordsman managed to pick the mace about an inch above the ground, before gravity took hold, and mace and swordsman went crashing through the floor. "…uh, Lina, I'm having some trouble here…" Gourry called out from the hole in the ground.

Lina slapped her forehead, "Gourry you jellyfish! Levitation! I do not have time for this!" she yelled as Gourry and the mace floated up, "Gourry, just float around and put the mace somewhere. Filia, just get dressed for the ball and stop arguing with me!"

By the time Amelia arrived with Filia's ball gown, Lina had already stormed out of the room, Gourry had floated out after her, pushing the mace in front of him, and Filia's tail was wrapping itself around angrily. Amelia sighed, and set the light blue dress down carefully, "Ano…Filia-san?"

"_Yes?" _ snapped Filia, not bothering to turn around.

"It's almost time for the ball," said Amelia calmly, as she had seen Filia much worse before, "you should get ready."

Filia flopped down into the chair by her small table, and put her head in her hands, "Amelia, do you know why this situation is much more irritating than how I thought it would be?"

"How did you think it would be like?"

"I don't know," said Filia, folding her arms on the table, "definitely easier. I expected that the mazokou prince would be an evil person, not some weird fruitcake. I expected that I would be able to tolerate him, and not have to have my mace confiscated for safety reasons. I expected…I don't even know what I'm talking about," she ended, laughing softly, "Like you said Amelia, it's almost time for the ball, so you better go get ready too."

The maid looked up in surprise, "Eh! Filia-san, I wasn't planning to go to the ball, since it's a royal ball, and I don't have anything fancy enough for that..."

"But you want to go, right?"

"Well," Amelia said wringing her hands nervously, "actually, yes."

Filia walked over to the end of her room, and flung open her closet which revealed an array of fancy dresses, "I'm taller than you, but some quick adjustments should fix that up pretty quick. Borrow whatever you want Amelia."

"But I can't just borrow one of your dresses!" protested Amelia incredulously, "You're the princess and I'm the maid!"

Filia snorted, "Since when did I start caring about that? Seriously, just borrow one, adjust it a bit, and then go to the ball in it."

Amelia bit her lip, and quickly riffled through the dresses, stopping at a pink dress with intricate lace embroidered across the collar and sleeves, "Would you mind if I borrowed this?"

"No problem."

"Thank you so much Filia-san!" said Amelia, walking out of the door, and closing it behind her.

--

"If that mazokou bothers you Filia, just tell me, alright?" Val said stonily, staring at the redwood doors that led to the ball room.

Filia sighed, "Val, did you know that Lina confiscated my mace for safety/diplomatic reasons? I can't really mess this up since I already messed up the first meeting, so…I'll just have to deal with that fruitcake the best I can."

"I'm not letting you just dance with that Xellos without your mace!" Val said, quickly motioned for Lina to walk over there, "Lina, give Filia's mace back, she'll need it with that mazokou prince."

"No. She'll bash that guy's head in, and then all the mazokou will be sure to scream for her blood," replied Lina stiffly.

"She doesn't have anything to defend herself with!"

"All she has to do is dance; we'll take care of defending her!" Lina said calmly, gesturing to the small troop of guards and mages behind her.

"She's the golden dragon princess, she needs a weapon. What happens if Xellos tries to attack her while they're dancing?" demanded Val.

Lina snorted, "He'd have to be an idiot to do that, because then the all the dragons would be screaming for his blood, and possibly L-sama as well. And yes Filia," she added, rolling her eyes, when Filia coughed sarcastically a few times, "he's a complete namagomi, but he's not an idiot. He won't attack her, I'm more worried about the mazokou in general in the crowd, but we'll deal with them."

"Are you disobeying your king's orders, Inverse?" demanded Val angrily.

"No sir," said Lina bowing ironically, "just trying to get you to see common sense. The princess seems to have a really short temper when it comes to the mazokou prince, therefore she should not be allowed any weapons, unless your goal is to get her to kill the mazokou prince, in which if we don't get slaughtered by the enraged mob of mazokou, we'll be at the mercy of L-sama. Got it?"

Val gritted his teeth, and was about to spit out a stream of insults along with the declaration that this was the last day that Lina Inverse would have her job as the Head Sorceress, but then Filia lightly touched his arm, "Hey, she's right Val. Even though I hate to admit it, but the minute that mazokou opens his mouth my skin crawls. It'd probably be better if I didn't have my mace."

Everyone looked astonished, but Lina was gaping. "Are you sure you're feeling okay Filia?" she asked as she touched Filia's forehead, "Because I mean, if you are you don't have to—"

Filia pushed Lina's hand away, "I'm fine. Now, the sooner we get this ball over with, the better, so someone hurry up and open that door."

A few footmen dressed in their finest uniforms trimmed with gold hurried over, and pulled open the doors to reveal a brilliant display in colors and contrast. On one side of the huge ballroom were the dragons dressed in bright flashy colors, mostly gold, with much equally colorful embroidery stitched into the clothing. On the other side of the room were the mazokou dressed in rich fabrics such as silk and velvet in dark colors. Most prominent among them was Xellos who had abandoned his usual priestly garb for a black-violet shirt and black slacks.

Seeing the door open, Xellos easily teleported over to them, and bowed, "Why hello Filia-hime! It's so nice to see you again!"

Filia gritted her teeth, but managed to grind out a proper greeting, "It's nice to see you too, Xellos-ouji."

If possible, his grin got even wider, "And may I present my mother, Zelas-sama?" Zelas suddenly appeared behind him in a strapless red gown, lazily sipping red wine.

Everyone bowed or curtsied, and Val answered, "We are extremely gratified that you are here, Zelas-ouhi."

Zelas rolled her eyes, and downed the entire glass, "I hate formalities, so just drop it. I know you hate us, and Mother of All do I know the we all hate you, and the only reason we're all here today instead of clawing at each other's throats is because the Mother of All has the sudden need to be entertained. Here's my other generals," she waved languidly at a tall red haired man, a small black haired child, and two other figures that didn't seem to be entirely there, "and even though you'd have to be a fool not to know their names, it's Chaos Dragon Gaav, Dynast Grawshellar, Deep Sea Dolphin, and Hellmaster Phibrizo. Grawshellar and Dolphin can't completely come right now, so that's why you can't really see them. Anything else?"

Val flashed a predatory grin, "If we're being honest then I have to say that I despise your son, and wouldn't let Filia go near him with a ten foot pole if it wasn't for these circumstances. This," he said gesturing at Lina and Gourry, "are my Head Sorceress and Swordsman, and I will assume that you already know their names."

"I am glad that we understand each other," said Zelas unperturbed, waving her generals away, "now let's leave the two children to get to know each other." She then strided away, red dress swishing.

Val hung around worriedly, until Lina sighed and elbowed him away from Filia and Xellos, "You're the one trying to make sure that Filia at least learns how to tolerate the mazokou, right?" she hissed, "They're not going to do that if you're hovering around! Go away and dance or something."

"But what if something happens—"

"That's what _we're _here for," she said, gesturing impatiently to the crowd of guards and mages "so go off and _do _something."

Val unhappily also walked away, but still managed to stay close enough so that he could rush in if he thought the situation required it. Lina, more or less satisfied with how things were shaping up, raced to the long table piled with food, followed by Gourry.

"That's _my_ weird dish that I've never seen before, Lina!"

"You snooze, you lose," replied Lina piling her plate high with strange mazokou deserts and more usual dragon delicacies. "Is that _Sea of Chaos soup!_" she exclaimed, attacking a thick soup in a silver tureen.

"Lina, don't take all of it!"

Filia sighed as she watched the sorceress and swordsman bicker, wondering if by the time they were done if there would be any food left.

"May I compliment you on that lovely dress, Filia-hime?" asked an unwelcome voice that brought her back to a more pressing problem.

She ground her teeth, and smiled sweetly, "You may Xellos-ouji."

"Although," continued the mazokou, opening one eye slightly, "I have to say that although your dress is an alright color, the rest of all the dragon's clothes are quite garish. Are all dragons color blind?"

Filia twitched a few times, but managed to rein in her temper, although her tail had already popped out, "I must bring up the same subject with you then, as well. All your mazokou are dressed so darkly that they all look like a pack of crows, or maybe just namagomi in general."

Xellos' eye twitched a few times, but then he coughed. "It seems that since the music has started we must dance. I hope that dragons can somehow ignore their normally destructive nature and twirl a bit?" He extended a gloved hand toward her.

Filia's hands were desperately clenching for her mace, but knowing that she had no choice she sighed, "Let's get this over with," she replied, gingerly grasping his hand.

--

Val's eyes narrowed, and he quietly began cursing under his breath about life in general. He still wasn't done when he heard Gaav's voice, "Well, you don't seem very happy."

"Nah, you think? What should I be happy about?" he answered, still following the mismatched Xellos and Filia tensely dance.

"Ever the protective older brother. Relax, he won't try anything here, even if he is one of the most annoying mazokou around," Gaav said, gulping back some wine, "Hey, you dragons really do have some good wine, Zelas-sama was always wondering about that…"

Val waved his hand dismissively, "That's not the point. Look at them! Why are they so close to each other, it's just a waltz! I am going to go over there and—"

Gaav quickly dragged Val back before he could run into the dance floor, "You do that and you'll ruin the whole point of the ball in the first place! Besides, in dances you have to get close."

"But—"

"Oh, I have an idea," Gaav began pulling Val towards the mazokou side of the room, "a couple of months ago we attacked one of those really big temples, and picked up this cleric. She was one of the more powerful ones, so we kept her so she could heal up our few humans. Why don't you go ahead and talk to her, it'll take your mind off things."

"How is talking to some cleric supposed to take my mind off the fact that my little sister is currently dancing with a ravening mazokou prince!"

"Well, she is a pretty human…" said Gaav carefully, still pushing the struggling Val forward.

Val's struggles grew more frantic, "Don't mess with my love life!"

"You don't have a love life to even speak of," said Gaav snorting, "I'm trying to give you one. Hey, Sylphiel, talk to my friend here, and make sure he doesn't run over to the dance floor. Well then, I'm off, I have to mingle," he said as he deposited Val next to Sylphiel, and then walked off.

Val ran his hand through his aqua hair, and then looked at the cleric named Sylphiel. He had to admit that Gaav was right when he had said that she was pretty, but it looked like Gaav had forgot to mention that this girl seemed intensely shy, not looking at him at all, and just staring at the floor.

He sighed and then said, "Well then, let's make the best of this. I'm Val, and since I already know your name, how long have you been stuck with the mazokou?"

"Three months," was the barely audible reply.

"Since the war is over, you know that you can probably go back home soon?" asked Val, trying to start some sort of conversation.

"I don't think so…the temple was entirely destroyed, and nearly everyone was killed…" she bit her lip, and quickly shook her head.

Val leaned against one of the pillars, "So how have they been treating you?"

"…alright, I suppose."

Val rubbed his head, and then said, "Hey look, am I really that scary compared to all the mazokou around here?"

Sylphiel looked up for the first time, surprised, "No…"

"Then just talk to me alright? I need some distraction so that I don't run over there and attempt to kill the fruitcake mazokou prince."

"Then you must be the dragon's king?" asked Sylphiel, her eyes wide.

Val groaned, "Yeah, I am. What of it?"

"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't realize, and I was so rude—"

"I don't care about things like that," said Val, cutting her off, "it's annoying when everyone has to go all flowery just to tell me something."

"A-alright. Ano…may I ask you some question about divine magic?"

"Filia's better at it than I am, but fine, go ahead."

"Well, they say that white magic was created as a substitute for divine magic…"

--

Zelgadis regarded the ball gloomily, and wished once again that he was back in his own room, reading, or something useful at the very least. This noisy ball, with its bright lights was giving him a headache, and he was beginning to twitch every time someone looked at him in horror.

He was abruptly bumped out of his gloomy thoughts, when a small laughing girl wearing a pink dress, bumped into him, and spilled her glass of punch on him.

Zelgadis sighed, this just wasn't his day.

"I'm so sorry!" said Amelia frantically dabbing at the spot with a napkin, "I wasn't looking and—" she stopped talking when she saw the upper part of Zelgadis' face, "Ah, um…"

Zelgadis pushed Amelia away, "It's fine."

Forcing her fear away, she caught his arm, "No really, come on. I know where they keep extra clothes."

Zelagadis shook his head, "No, I'm supposed to stay here, since Xellos is here."

"Oh. Then…I'll go get some for you, so you can change into them later!" she rushed off before Zelgadis could say anything. He sighed and leaned back, _I'll be surprised if she comes back. That was a look of disgust when she saw my face._

In a few minutes, Amelia returned with a black suit, "I'm really sorry, but since we don't have any clothes like yours, this was really the only thing that I could fin that seemed to be around your size so—"

"It's alright," he said cutting her off, and taking the suit, "Thank you."

"Then I'll be going I suppose," she said, turning towards the dance floor.

"Go ahead."

Walking back to the dance floor, Amelia felt a little bit strange. _That really wasn't…I think I may have insulted him when I first saw what he looked like. Maybe I should go back and apologize about that? _She looked back, but by then Zelgadis had already moved away.

--

"Well, everyone seems fairly happy, don't they, Filia-hime?" asked Xellos, spinning her around.

Looking around, Filia had to agree. Lina and Gourry were frantically devouring food, Amelia was dancing, and her brother was actually _talking to a girl. _Normally she would go investigate, but since she was stuck dancing with the namagomi, "Yes they do Xellos-ouji. Are the happy feelings wounding you?"

"Of course not my dear Filia-hime, all your negative emotions are completely counteracting those nasty happy emotions," replied Xellos, grinning happily.

Filia's endurance was very nearly at the end, but she managed not to say anything at all. The strains of the flute died away, as the dance ended, and Xellos brushed his lips against Filia's. "Thanks for a good meal," he said as he teleported away.

_One…two…three…THAT'S IT! _"You _damn namagomi!"_

The mazokou began whispering among themselves, considering the insult, and finding that although it did not have anything to do with anything, it fit. Xellos twitched, and silently began to pray to Shabranigdo for patience.

_This is better than I thought it would be, _thought the Lord of Nightmares as she watched the situation unfold.

--

A/N: Again, I'm terribly sorry for not updating! School starting really does limit one's time…so review, and tell me what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not, in any way whatsoever, own Slayers.

A/N: Yes, I haven't updated in a long time (emphasis on long), and I'm sorry for the delay! Please bear with me though! In case you didn't notice from the last chapter, yes I'm going for Val/Sylphiel. Why? Don't ask me, but I like it.

--

"Oh great lord Flare Dragon Cephied," Filia intoned gravely, prostrated before a large statue of the huge dragon god, "lend me your great power to tolerate the evil bastard of a namagomi who is a seriously a fruitcake—"

"_Filia!" _screamed Lina, bursting into the temple, and angrily seizing the blond dragon, "_what the hell were you thinking? You insulted the prince of the mazokou in front of the entire court_—_"_

"So what?" Filia snapped back, shoving Lina off of her, "no one cared. In fact, they all agreed with me."

"You were lucky that time!" Lina yelled, "If you don't control your temper we'll be mopping the blood up from the floor!"

Filia angrily tossed her hair back, "Oh look, it's the kettle calling the pot black. It's not as if we're forcing _you _to marry anyone!"

Lina began tugging her red hair in frustration, "Look Filia, you _need _to calm down. You've tried to kill this guy, what, three times already? And L-sama knows how many times you've insulted him—"

"And L-sama knows how many times he's insulted _dragons," _muttered Filia angrily.

"But," continued Lina, "if this keeps up, well never mind the mazokou, L-sama herself might actually be displeased. And that…would not be good."

Filia bit her lip and shivered at the thought of the Lord of Nightmares' displeasure. Sighing she ran her fingers through her golden hair, "I know, I know, I tell myself every time before I have to go see him that. It's for the good of the people; it's my father's last wish, etc. But once I meet him…I don't know. I lose control or something. Things just don't work out the way I planned for them to."

"Please just try Filia," said Lina, "I mean I know it's bad. He kissed you in front if the entire court as well…"

"Don't remind me," said Filia stonily.

Lina shrugged, "Well, at least Gourry managed to hold Val back. That's what counts in the end," she said dryly.

Filia smiled as she strode out of the temple, "Yes…speaking of that, did you see that girl that Val was talking to?"

Lina pursed her lips in thought, and then said slowly, "The…black haired one? I think so."

"What do you think? It's been a long time since he's ever shown any interest?" said Filia lightly, grinning, "After all, he is the king, so he'll need an heir—"

Val appeared behind Filia, and swatted her on the head, "Don't start ringing the wedding bells just yet. We already have the entire court for that, you don't need to start."

"But Val," Filia whined, grabbing his arm, "you need to get a girl or else you'll turn into an old crotchety geezer perv, and that would be bad."

Val rolled his eyes, and shook Filia off, "Let me worry about my own love life okay?"

"That you don't have?" Filia said, sighing dramatically, "We've seen the results of letting you handle it, haven't we?"

Val muttered under his breath about annoying little sisters, as Lina laughed and marched off to look for Gourry, when Amelia hurried over to Filia, and worriedly held up the pale pink court dress with gold ribbons, "Filia-san, you haven't used this dress in awhile, and someone forgot to put in mothballs, so there's some…um, holes, but I patched them up….but I'm not sure if it looks right…"

Filia tilted her head to get a better view of the dress. She had to admit that thing had seen better days, since now the color was faded, the ribbons slightly tattered, and despite Amelia's best attempts, one could still see the patches on the bodice and sleeves. Val whistled, "Well…it's true that we haven't had an occasion for you to wear that thing for a very long time, but if it looks that bad…"

Taking the dress from Amelia, Filia spun the dress around a few times, "…thank you Amelia for trying to save what is now obviously a wreck of a dress. Do I have any others that would be appropriate?"

Amelia bit her lip, "For normal occasions or even a ball, yes, but for such an important meeting tomorrow…you really have to wear the court dress, and you only have one…"

Filia rubbed her head in irritation, "But we've been at war for Great Golden Lord knows how long! Surely our court and the mazokou will understand if I can't appear in the traditional clothes?"

"Our court even with Saichoro yes," said Val slowly, "but do you really wish to give Metallium another excuse to make fun of you?"

At the mention of his name, Filia's tail popped out, as she groaned, "Oh, I can just imagine… 'My, my, Filia-hime, do all dragons disregard the traditions that they themselves insist upon? How hypocritical!'" she said, mimicking Xellos' cheerful tone.

Amelia clapped, "That's amazing Filia-san! You sounded just like him!"

Filia raised her hand to her mouth in horror, as Val began to laugh, "Oh, you've done it now Filia…who knows, maybe you'll be able to get along with him soon, if we're lucky."

"Ugh, excuse me while I puke," Filia said, turning away.

"Anyway," said Val, turning to Amelia, "what will you two have to do about that dress?"

Amelia chewed her lip as she turned the dress over a few times, "…Filia-san has a few other pink dresses around this color," she said thoughtfully, "if I start soon, I could just remove the ribbons, and reattach them on one of those, and stitch up the crest."

Filia nodded, "Well then, I'll come and help you—"

"No you won't," interrupted Val, "you have to look over the papers they sent us with me remember? It's _your_ marriage after all."

"Don't remind me," Filia said again, turning to walk to the king's grand study, "Sorry Amelia," she called over her shoulder.

"It's alright," said Amelia, "it won't take long anyway."

--

Lina had happily managed to wrestle a pile of food away from Gourry, and was now chomping on a large chicken wing while leaning over the chair, to watch Amelia, "Looks good."

"Thanks," Amelia replied, carefully turning the dress to stitch the crest of the UI Copt family on the sleeve, "But it's really not that hard."

"For you maybe," replied Lina languidly, finishing the chicken wing and picking up a bowl of pasta, "But anyway, it's for that big fancy royal meeting tomorrow, right? The one where they negotiate all the conditions? Seriously hope she doesn't somehow manage to mess up this one."

"Filia-san will do fine!" replied Amelia brightly, holding up the dress, "There, what do you think?"

Lina shrugged, slurping up the pasta, "Looks good to me."

"Oh yeah….Lina-san?" Amelia asked, folding up the dress.

"What?"

"There was someone I met yesterday," Amelia began hesitantly, "but he—"

"Oh, a guy, hm?" asked Lina knowingly.

"Not like that!" Amelia squeaked, turning red, "This guy had half of his face covered, but the half that you could see was…strange."

"Strange?" asked Lina curiously, now chomping on a baked potato, "As in L-sama-he's ugly strange, or wow-he-looks-like-he's-not-from-around-here strange?"

"Sort of the second one, but not really. It was as if…he was made of stone," said Amelia.

"Stone? Literally? Could have been a golem…" Lina said, waving her hand.

Amelia shook her head, "I've seen golems before Lina-san, and they're huge. This guy was human sized and shaped. And blue-green."

"In-ter-rest-ing," Lina mused, absentmindedly now chewing on a steak, "definitely not natural anyway. Point him out to me next time you see him, okay?"

"Okay," Amelia replied, patting the dress worriedly. She really did hope that the strange man hadn't taken offense from her yesterday. She _had _acted quite rude…but hopefully he would have forgotten that by now.

--

"And so, it is our adamant opinion, that the dragons should be able to keep their armed forces in mazokou territory while the mazokou slowly withdraw their own troops," Saichoro droned on, at the head of the long table.

Filia desperately tried to make it seem that she was paying attention by twiddling with the quill in front of her, and occasionally scribbling a word. It wasn't helping much though, in terms of keeping herself awake. Oh sure, there was the occasional bickering that happened at all these meetings, but Saichoro was their ultimate weapon in these games. No one could pay attention for more than twenty minutes before their brain turned to mush after hearing Saichoro lecture.

No one that is, except Zelas and Xellos.

"Not quite fair is it," commented Zelas lightly, swirling her wine, "for us to remove our troops, and for you to not?"

Saichoro glared at her for being interrupted, "As I was saying before, Zelas-ouhi, we would not feel quite…safe, if we had no defense left."

"Well, that won't be a problem, considering how the Mother of All will fry the first person to violate our treaty," replied Zelas sweetly.

"Nevertheless," continued Saichoro, "to reassure our people, these are our conditions."

"Oh yes, but to reassure our people, we'd like for you to remove your troops first," said Xellos, speaking for the first time, "After all, we all know how honorable gold dragons are, yes?"

There was a loud _thunk_, and everyone turned to see Val fixedly staring at the table, with his arm transformed into huge black claws digging into the table, "Let's not bring up that subject, Metallium," Val finally said.

Xellos shrugged as Zelas put down her wineglass "He was just joking, _wasn't he?" _

"Of course mother," replied Xellos grinning happily.

"Back to the subject at hand," said Saichoro, sounding annoyed, "you will remove your forces first."

"No," replied Zelas simply, taking a sip of wine.

"We must insist," said Saichoro stonily.

"And we must also insist," Zelas replied.

As Saichoro took a deep breath, Xellos stood up and walked over to where Filia was slumped over, and grabbed her arm. He beamed at the suddenly awake and shocked council, "I think Filia-hime needs some fresh air, so I'll just go for a walk with her, hm?"

Towing an utterly shocked Filia behind him, Xellos strode out of the room and into the hall with a happy sight of relief. "Well, that's much better isn't it?"

Filia snatched her arms away from him as if she had been burned, "What are you up to?" she asked harshly.

"Oh, and this is how you dragons thank someone who tries to help them? Well, I always knew they were rude," Xellos answered, shrugging.

"Help me?" she asked blankly, "why would a namagomi mazokou help me?"

Xellos twitched at the name but remained calm, "That is a secret, of course."

Filia repeated the phrase under her breath sarcastically, and then sat down heavily. Drawing her light blue shawl around her, she angled herself in a way so that she didn't have to look at Xellos. Xellos however, simply sat down right next to her. Filia twitched, and ever so slightly scooted away. Xellos just scooted closer to her.

Filia spun around, her tail thrashing behind her, "_What do you want?"_

"Why, nothing of course, Filia-hime. What would I want from you?" asked Xellos, leaning against the wall, with his arms propped up around his head.

Filia sniffed daintily and decided to, for once, not answer.

"Oh?" asked Xellos, opening an eye, "you're not going to say anything?"

"I have nothing worthwhile to speak to you about," replied Filia haughtily.

"Well, well, I suppose the dragon can change their scales…" mused Xellos, "But in the end maybe not. They'll always be lying fools."

Filia gave up on self-control, reached up into her skirt, and brandished Mace-sama, "_What were_ _you saying again?"_

Xellos smirked, "That all dragons are lying cowardly sneaky fools?"

Filia let out a scream of rage and began to play whack-a-Xellos. Xellos simply teleported all over the place in amusement.

--

Lina set off random fireballs that fried the walls, while running down the long hall with Gourry, "One time! That's all I ask, is that she would just hold her temper _one time_ and she can't even do that! Is that so hard?"

Gourry thought about it for a few moments before answering, "I think so Lina, since you never can…"

Lina glared at Gourry, and the next fireball hit him in the stomach. "Stupid jellyfish," she muttered darkly, as she hauled him through the halls, "doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut."

Gourry gingerly touched his stomach, which wasn't as badly damaged as he thought it might be (he had developed an immunity to basic magic spells over a _long _period of time with Lina), and hesitantly asked, "Do we know which way we're going?"

"Of course we know where we're going," snapped Lina, abruptly turning down another hallway, "We're following the screams of rage that Filia is emitting."

Gourry nodded, but ventured, "Yeah, but this place echoes, doesn't it?"

Lina stopped in her tracks, which caused Gourry to run into her, which ended with them being sprawled on the floor as a tangle of limbs. "Get off of me you stupid jellyfish!" Lina screamed in equal parts rage and embarrassment.

"…should you two really be acting like that? I mean, it's your princess that's screaming…" a figure in tan robes asked, walking quietly closer.

Lina managed to shove Gourry off of her, and stood up dusting off her crimson robes, "Who are you?" she asked aggressively.

The figure bowed slightly, "Zelgadis Greywords, the unfortunate bodyguard of Xellos Metallium."

Lina squinted at him, and rubbed her eyes. The lighting wasn't very good in these halls as there were only torches, yet she could swear that the upper part of his face that wasn't covered was blue-green and were those…pebbles?

"…did you ever meet a girl named Amelia?" she slowly asked.

Zelgadis blinked. This was not the question he had been expecting. "I believe not."

"Really?" asked Lina doubtfully, "short girl, short black hair, probably wearing a dress back then—"

"And with a bigger chest than Lina's," Gourry helpfully added.

Lina punched him in the head, and fired three simultaneous fireballs at him. Zelgadis stared at the destruction the small sorceress had caused, and then coughed, "I think I met someone like that, yes."

"Oh good, because she mentioned you," Lina said calmly, while putting Gourry in a headlock.

Inwardly Zelgadis cringed, but outwardly he showed no sign of it. "Indeed," he said blankly, "Well, if you are interested at all, your princess and Xellos are down that hall," he commented, pointing to the hall leading to the right.

"Thanks!" Lina called out over her shoulder, dragging the much abused Gourry along behind her.

"Don't mention it," Zelgadis mumbled, a bit surprised. _There was no way she couldn't have seen my face, _he thought to himself, slowly ambling down the hall. _What did this Amelia tell her, I wonder?_

_In the end I suppose it doesn't make a difference. _

--

The council had unanimously voted to take a short break, mainly because their brains were fried from Saichoro's long speeches.

Val stretched and rubbed his arm. It had been awhile since he had reverted to that form. Gaav swatted him on the shoulder, causing him to bowl over a bit. "You okay?" Gaav asked, raising a bushy red eyebrow.

"Fine," Val growled out, "Just got a little…testy at the subject."

Gaav shrugged, and then smiled. "Oh, I know something that'll perk you up."

"What?" Val asked suspiciously, reaching for a goblet of water.

If anything, Gaav's smile got wider, "As a wedding gift, I'm giving our human cleric Sylphiel Nels Rada to you."

Val's eyes bugged out as he spat out the water he had been drinking, "_You're doing what?"_

Gaav nodded happily, "I knew you would like it."

--

A/N: So….how was that? I'm still trying to set up the Zelgadis/Amelia…never knew it would be so hard. Please review and I'll try (key word) to update soon.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: If I actually owned Slayers, why would I even bother writing fanfics for it?

A/N: Sorry for the long wait…once again, school and stuff is hell on Earth I swear. (And only 4 of you reviewed…sniff. But thanks to those that did review!) So let's see what chaos will happen next to poor Filia and Val since we're at it.

--

"I'm serious Gaav!" Val raged, his yellow eyes slitted, "You can't just give me a human girl as a gift!"

"Why not?" Gaav asked reasonably, grabbing two goblets, "I'm sure she won't mind. You want something to drink?"

Val shot a glare full of venom towards Gaav, slamming his fist on the long serving table, causing all the goblets to rattle, "Gaav," he said slowly, "I know what you're up to, and if you think that giving me some human girl is somehow going to make me take a queen—"

Gaav poured some red wine into the goblets, and handed Val one, clinking both goblets together, "Keep your voice down," he hissed softly, tipping back his head to drink deeply, "People are watching," he nodded and smiled at the assorted staring dragons and mazokou who had overheard, "Anyway," he continued, as they looked away in disinterest, "first of all, it isn't just some random human girl, it's a fairly powerful cleric who you've met before. Secondly, who said anything about a queen? I personally just think you need some offspring, since besides being the Dragon King, you're the last surviving Ancient Dragon."

Val gaped at Gaav in shock, nearly dropping his goblet. He sputtered, "_What the hell_—_" _then quickly lowering his voice once he saw some courtiers turn around again, "Gaav," he said quietly, through gritted teeth, "I _really _don't need you messing around with my love life."

"Hm?" asked Filia, walking up and grabbing a large goblet of water, "We're talking about your nonexistent love life again Val?"

Val groaned, raking his fingers through his aqua hair, "Filia, don't start. Besides," he said critically, looking at Filia's disarrayed golden hair, wrinkled skirt, and the way she was guzzling down water, "What were you doing?"

"Don't tell Lina," said Filia, grabbing the pitcher of water, "but I was trying to kill the namagomi."

Val sighed, "Again?" he asked exasperated.

Filia nodded, pouring more water into her goblet, "Again."

Val sighed again, sipping his wine; "If you really don't want to Filia—" he began, but was cut off by an emphatic shake of her head. "It isn't like I want to," Filia said quietly, tracing the intricate engravings on the goblet, "but I have to."

"A noble sister you've got there, Val-ou," Gaav said, saluting Filia with his goblet, "Care to introduce us?"

"Oh yes," Val said, gesturing towards Gaav, "Filia, this is Chaos Dragon Gaav. Gaav, this is my sister, Filia-hime sama."

Filia sent a confused look to her brother, but curtsied, "Pleasure to meet you, Chaos Dragon Gaav."

"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you," Gaav said, putting his goblet back down, "After all, I finally have managed to meet the dragon princess that can annoy our prince into tearing around the room."

Filia grinned, covering her mouth with her hand, and curtsied again, "Thank you," she said demurely, her blue eyes dancing with mischief.

The tall doors to the reception hall banged open, revealing a harried looking Lina with a slightly dazed looking Gourry with scorched blond hair. Lina's red eyes automatically zeroed in on Filia who was innocently now sipping her water, and she marched right up to her, and grabbed Filia by the ear. "Right you little brat," Lina hissed angrily, "What did I tell you about trying to kill certain mazokou? Hm, I distinctly remember telling you to not try it anymore. And what do you do? _And what do you do? Of course, you run off as soon as possible to try and kill him again!"_

"Um Lina," said Gourry, tapping Lina timidly on the shoulder, "Lina?"

"_What?" _snarled Lina, turning around.

Gourry gestured around the hall, where everything had halted to watch the show. Even Zelas was looking at them with amusement over her wineglass. "Do carry on," she drawled, toasting Lina ironically, "I want to hear what happened to my ever so annoying son after all."

Lina flushed a fiery red, that made her face nearly indistinguishable from her hair, but snapped, "Don't do it again," letting go of Filia's ear in the process.

Filia rubbed her ear resentfully, muttering, "I won't…let you find out next time."

"_What was that?" _asked Lina, turning around again.

"Oh nothing," replied Filia innocently, crossing her fingers behind her back, "Nothing at all."

Lina rolled her eyes, but decided not to comment, instead grabbing a large goblet of wine from Gourry, and gulping it down. She wiped her mouth and sighed contentedly, "Ah, now I feel better!"

"Lina that was mine!" Gourry whined.

Lina whacked him over the head with the goblet without looking, "Quiet Gourry," she said mildly, polishing off the rest of the wine.

Gourry gloomily poured himself another goblet of wine, but perked up when he saw a familiar sandy cape through the crowds. He waved frantically, elbowing Lina in the process. "Hey, um…what was his name again," he muttered to himself, then asking Lina, "Lina, what's that guy's name again?"

Lina hit Gourry on the head again, and then turned to look in the direction he was pointing. "Oh, that guy. Hey, Zel!" she yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth, "Over here! Hey!"

Zelgadis drew his cloak more closely around him, touching his mask to make sure that it was still covering his face, while pointedly ignoring Lina. This could have ended with either Lina deciding that it was too much trouble and giving up (highly unlikely, but still possible) or with Lina storming over to give Zelgadis a piece of her mind with a fireball (much more likely), but instead Zelgadis heard a familiar cheerful voice behind him say, "Well, well Zelgadis…you have friends?"

Zelgadis whirled around, and could barely keep himself from groaning. "Xellos," he ground out.

Xellos grinned happily, "I'm so happy that you're glad to see me! One might think that you've been actually trying to avoid me these days… But anyway, you do know that it's rude to ignore your friends, Zelgadis?" he began to push Zelgadis towards Lina and Gourry.

Filia began to twitch upon the sight of Xellos approaching, but before she could reach for Mace-sama, Lina slapped her hand away, and gave her pointed look that promised pain if Filia even tried to trip Xellos. Filia opened her mouth to give Lina an order to back off, but by then it was too late. Xellos, towing Zelgadis behind him, had already arrived. He beamed to the silent group, "Hello everyone!"

Lina elbowed Filia, who forced out a choked, "Hello Xellos-ouji."

Xellos' grin grew wider, "Ah, is that how you greet me? After I save you and we have shared a kiss?"

Filia's gold tail had by now long popped out and was thrashing noticeably above her head. However, she did manage to keep her voice even through strength of will, "I wouldn't speak of that if I were you."

"Oh why?" Xellos asked, arching a purple eyebrow, "You enjoyed it."

Lina and Val both grabbed as Filia let go of whatever was left of her self-control and lunged at Xellos. She struggled in their grasps, yelling, "Let go! I'm going to kill that damn namagomi!"

"Oh, no you're not!" hissed Lina, digging her heels against the ground to hold back the raging Filia, "Have you forgotten where we are?"

"I agree with Lina on this one," Val grunted, "But also, Metallium," he turned to Xellos, practically baring his fangs, "never imply that my sister is a…loose woman ever again."

Xellos shrugged, still smiling, "Very well, Val-ou. But perhaps you should rein in your temper a bit as well," he said, giving a small wave to Zelas and the other mazokou who were watching with bemused interest.

Val gritted his teeth in frustration, but instead of belting Xellos, he bent down and whispered into Filia's ear, "My offer still stands. But Filia, calm down. Don't make a scene here."

Filia breathed in and out deeply, but finally said, "Fine then."

Lina and Val apprehensively let go of Filia's arms, with Lina cautiously keeping her arms stretched out. Filia sighed, and unhappily took a deep gulp of wine, praying in her head for this torturous experience to end. It was not granted.

Xellos relished the negative feelings pouring off of Filia, while commenting, "Are you sure you should be drinking so much, Filia-chan? It might make you an alcoholic?"

Filia gripped the goblet tightly, her tail practically twisting itself into knots, as she muttered, "_Don't call me Filia-chan."_

Xellos nodded solemnly, and sated, walked away to converse with Zelas. Lina let go of the breath that she had been holding, then turned to Filia, "You idiot!" she berated her, "You nearly lost you entire temper in front of some of the most important mazokou dignitaries there are!"

"I held my temper didn't I?" Filia argued back, her arms crossed.

"Only because we managed to hold you back!" retorted Lina, "Otherwise you'd be whipping out mace-sama and running around the room attempting to kill him. And don't deny it."

Filia opened her mouth, then shut it angrily. She haughtily swung her golden hair back, and marched over to Saichoro, informing him in solemn tones, "Saichoro, I think that we should go back to the meeting now."

Saichoro bowed deeply, "As you wish, Filia-hime sama," he clapped his hands to get the attention of the room, "We will now adjourn again to discuss our treaty. Let us return," he intoned gravely.

A few of the mazokou (and a few dragons) groaned at the thought of listening to Saichoro's droning voice once again, but one sharp look from Zelas (or Filia in the case of the dragons) soon shut them up. Everyone set their goblets down with great regret, and gradually shuffled back into the arched meeting chamber with looks of apprehension. As al the courtiers settled into their high-backed seats, servants pulled the great doors of the chamber shut, and Lina and Gourry took up their customary positions outside.

Zelgadis turned to wonder off again, but Lina grabbed him by his hood, "Hold it," she said, motioning for Gourry to block off his route of escape, "Let's talk."

Zelgadis jerked his hood out of Lina's grasp, pulling it tightly around his face, "Talk about what?" he asked, exasperated.

"Touchy," Lina commented, "Who says that we can't just have a casual talk like friends?"

"Because we aren't," Zelgadis snapped, "Now will you please let me go on my way?"

"Not until we get a few things straight," replied Lina, trying to prop her arm on Gourry's shoulder, but failing due to the height difference, "First of all, what's with your face?"

Zelgadis was too taken aback to even be offended at first, "What?" he asked, in disbelief. No one had ever tried asking that bluntly before.

"You know," said Lina, waving her hand around vaguely, "How it happened, and that sort of thing."

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Zelgadis retorted sharply, "Now if you will excuse me, I'll be on my way now," he shoved Gourry out of the way and into Lina, and hurried away, not bothering to turn around even when Lina screeched as she was crushed underneath Gourry for the second time of the day.

"_Get off me you jellyfish!" _she screamed, trying to push Gourry off of her.

"I'm trying Lina!" replied said blond swordsman, attempting to heave himself up. Unfortunately, in trying to push himself up, his hand reached where no man's hand should reach unless they want to get slapped, or in Lina's case fried. Gourry didn't have a chance.

Lina's face turned even redder than her hair as she blasted Gourry away from her with a succession of about five fireballs, "_Hentai!" _she screeched.

--

Xellos grinned, and basked in the overall negative feelings coming from outside the room, while everyone else's heads jerked up at the sound of a high pitched screech that any harpy would have been proud of.

"What in the world?" Saichoro asked, standing up, "Should we go check—"

"No," said Val, cutting him off, and bringing out his arm to block Saichoro's path, "It's nothing to worry about."

Saichoro frowned, "Are you sure Val-ou? Something could be happening…"

"No," Filia spoke up, smiling for the first time since the meeting had restarted, "It's just Lina, and probably Gourry doing something stupid again."

Saichoro relaxed, easing back into his chair, "Oh I see. In that case we can proceed," he cleared his throat, "I am happy that we have finally resolved the issue of troop withdrawal, Zelas-ouhi."

Zelas wryly saluted him with the ever present wine glass, "Of course. Now may we talk about when the wedding of my son will be?"

Filia sat up straighter at this, as did Val. Xellos on the other hand, simply looked even more amused. "Hey," he said blithely, "can the wedding be in the winter? I've always wanted to see a bride accidently set herself on fire on the wedding day."

Filia bristled, "What does that have to do with winter?" she demanded, "And _you want to set me on fire?"_

"There are more candles during the winter," Xellos pointed out, "And of course I don't want to set you on fire Filia-chan! However…" at this his grin grew wider, anticipating the delicious rancor that was going to erupt from Filia, "the chaos would be quite interesting to watch."

Filia did not disappoint Xellos, as was seen from the tail that had popped out of her dress, however her voice remained controlled, "I see. Of course namagomi like you would want that."

The mazokou all stopped breathing in horror. Oh true, they knew the dragon princess liked to insult their prince, but to do it at such an important meeting? For shame! They instinctively turned to look at the silently fuming Xellos (who was still smiling) and Zelas who was calmly drinking red wine, to see how they would react to the insult.

Zelas, feeling the eyes of all the mazokou on her, inwardly smirked, and raised her wineglass, "Only a girl with enough nerve to insult my son, would I actually permit to marry Xellos," she announced solemnly, "Shall we have the wedding in a month from now? We will need time to prepare for the ceremony and festivities."

Saichoro nodded, "Very well, Val ou?" he asked, turning to Val.

Val ran his hand through his aqua hair and sighed. "Filia," he said, turning to face her, "Is it okay with you?"

Filia shrugged in a seemingly nonchalant manner, "Might as well get it over with as soon as possible, I suppose," she replied.

Val sighed again, "Then I agree," he pronounced, looking Zelas in the eye.

Zelas smiled beatifically, "Perfect!" she stood up, gesturing imperially for the rest of the mazokou to do so as well. "We will see each other again next month then."

As all the mazokou filed out of the door, Xellos swooped in on Filia, and gave her a brief kiss on the lips, "Bye darling!" he said, disappearing.

Filia stood shock still, touching her lips. Val, worried, tapped her on the shoulder, "Filia? Are you al—"

"_THAT DAMN NAMAGOMI!" _Filia shrieked, tail spinning wildly in the air, and mace-sama beginning the destruction of the room.

Lina and a much scorched Gourry came running in at the noise, but upon seeing that Xellos was gone, Lina breathed a sigh of relief. "Well," she said, stretching, "at least she took some of my advice. It's settled then?" she asked Val.

"It's settled," replied Val gravely.

--

A/N: Not so great of an ending, but I wasn't quite too sure how to end it anyway…please review! Next chapter (which will be…I have no idea actually. I'll try! It's going to be summer anyway…) will be the ever dreaded wedding.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers in any way, whatsoever.

A/N: Sorry for the delay, but I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do next, and there was school…anyway, it's summer now, so we might get updates more quickly. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

--

Five various seamstresses bustled around Filia, taking measurements down on pieces of paper, holding different bolts of white satin up in order to decide which design suited her best, and draping and then pinning various fabrics up around her to see how it would look on the dragon princess. It had been about two hours now, and it was all Filia could do to not scream in frustration.

"Are you alright Filia-san?" Amelia asked worriedly, standing in the sidelines.

"Does it really have to take this long to make one dress?" Filia asked from behind clenched teeth as the seamstresses continued to poke and prod at her.

"It's your wedding dress!" Amelia said earnestly, with her hands clasped reverently in front of her, "It must be made with as much care as possible, Filia-san!"

"If you say so," said Filia grimly, holding her arms out to the side as another seamstress pulled a measuring tape across her.

Just then, another seamstress timidly knocked on the door, and walked in. She quickly curtsied, and said, "Hime-sama, I am sorry to bother you, but we have a slight problem."

Filia sighed as she dropped her arms down, "What is it?"

"Well—"

The door burst open, and a furious Lina, wearing a long white shift, came striding in.

"Filia!" she yelled, "Why the hell are all these seamstresses poking and measuring everything about me?"

Filia snorted, turning around so a seamstress could pin a light pink ribbon across her waist, "You are to be my maid of honor. Therefore you need a dress, and therefore the seamstresses need to measure you, because Cephied knows when you last wore a dress."

"Fine," snapped Lina, crossing her arms over her chest, "But why do I have to have _them _as my seamstresses?" she asked, pointing to the aqua-haired and the busty black-haired women that had just walked in.

Martina smirked, and said snidely, "It's not my fault that you've got a small chest."

"Ohohohoho!" laughed Gracia, or Naga as she preferred to be called, loudly, "Even my kid sister is more developed than you Inverse!" she said, gesturing to an embarrassed Amelia.

Lina's face was turning progressively redder, "Shut up Martina, and goldfish feces!" she yelled, "Besides, why are you following me, goldfish feces? You're not even a seamstress!"

"Naga is here because she can sew, and there is currently a shortage of seamstresses here, right now," Filia explained shortly, twirling so a critical seamstress could check the design of the skirt, "So deal with it."

As Lina gave a little shriek of frustration, and angrily walked out, Filia nodded to Amelia, "Why don't you go with her?" Filia requested, "You'll also need a gown if you're to be a bridesmaid, and it will be faster to finish if you go with Lina."

Amelia wringed her hands nervously, "Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly, "I mean, I could stay here if you like, Filia-san."

"Go ahead," Filia said dismissively, raising her arms again so that a seamstress could measure her waistline, "You'll keep Lina from killing Martina and your sister, anyway."

Amelia laughed, as she began to walk towards the door, "Okay then, I'll try. But I can't promise anything."

"I wouldn't expect you to," replied Filia warmly, as Amelia walked out the door.

She sighed as a seamstress draped a long piece of delicate lace around her head. The seamstress frowned and, twitched the lace more to the side, and then nodded in satisfaction, setting aside the lace, and scribbling down a few notes.

_They want a fairy-tale wedding, even if this entire situation is more like a horror story, _Filia thought cynically, resignedly standing up straighter as another seamstress measured her neck, _and look, they're even measuring my neck for the noose._

--

Val paced back and forth, running a hand through his aqua colored hair every few minutes. Gourry stared at him in bewilderment, and then finally asked, "Um, Val? Are you alright?"

Val groaned, and then looked at Gourry, "Am I alright?" he asked blankly, "Some girl is going to be delivered here today, and I'm supposed to take care of her evidently. And then my sister is getting fitted for wedding dress she doesn't want to wear, and my head mage keeps firing fireballs in her own fitting room. Do you think I'm alright?"

Gourry looked at the ceiling for a few seconds for guidance, then replied, "Well, Lina is pretty easy to deal with you know, it's just that you have to dodge all those fireballs—"

"No, Lina, of all things is definitely the least of my worries," Val said morosely, sitting down heavily, "It's that girl."

Gourry scratched his head, with a puzzled expression on his face, "What's wrong with a girl?" he asked.

Val sighed, as he stretched his arms, "There's nothing wrong with her," he said grimly, "It's just this entire situation that we're in."

Gourry didn't understand what Val was saying, and since Lina wasn't there to explain things to him, he decided to just let the matter drop. "The wedding should be nice, right?" he asked, picking an easy topic.

Val's face darkened at the words, and he laughed harshly, "Oh yes, it should be nice. With all of us shooting dirty looks at each other left and right, and the bride and groom trying to kill each other. What fun! Won't we have a blast?" he asked sarcastically.

Gourry frowned, as he tried to think of a different subject, and glanced at the door from which Lina's voice was yelling. He really wished she was here with him. She knew what to say when people were in strange moods. Of course, sometimes Lina did say the wrong things, and then that person would yell at Lina, but it usually turned out alright in the end.

Well," he said, searching his brain for something to lift the mood, "Um…look! It's someone new!" he exclaimed, gratefully, pointing to a long black haired girl that was walking towards them.

Val looked up, and then stood up abruptly. He bowed deeply as the woman walked forward, "I am pleased to see you, Sylphiel Nels Rada-san," he intoned gravely.

Sylphiel quickly dropped into a deep curtsy, "I am honored, Val-ou," she then stood up slowly, only to gasp at the sight of Gourry, "Gourry dear!"

Gourry stared at Sylphiel, before thumping his right fist into his open left palm, "Oh, it's you! You're the girl that can make really good food!"

Sylphiel blushed, and covered her mouth with her hand, "Yes," she replied simply.

Val looked first at Gourry then at Sylphiel, then back at Gourry. "Care to enlighten me a bit here?" he finally asked.

Gourry beamed happily, "I met Sylphiel before, at a temple I stopped by," he began to explain, "This was before I met Lina, or came here. She made some really good food for me!"

Val nodded, crossing his arms, and looking at Sylphiel, who simply nodded as a response. "I see," he finally said, "Would you like to show her the way to her quarters then, Gourry?"

Gourry stared at Val in confusion, "I don't know where her quarters are Val," he pointed out, "Besides, I'm supposed to stay here so that Lina doesn't get too out of control!"

Val nodded again, his face inscrutable, "Oh yes. Then I'll go show her to her quarters then. Make sure Lina doesn't start throwing fireballs, alright? Cephied knows how much money we've already spent trying to fix things."

Gourry laughed, and nodded in assent. Val held out his arm, and Sylphiel tentatively wrapped her own arm around it. As they walked away, there was a loud crash, and the sound of Lina's shrieking voice easily carrying through the wooden door, "Goddamn it! Stop laughing!"

Naga's booming laugh practically shook the door on its well-oiled hinges, "Ohohohohoho! How can we help it? Your chest is so tiny—"

_Boom_, went something from inside the room, and both Gourry and Val shook their heads in exasperation. Gourry cautiously went up to the door, and knocked on it slowly, "Lina?" he asked, "is everything alright in there?"

Both Martina's and Naga's laughter could be heard now. "Oh?" asked Martina, elbowing Lina, "you have a guy? You didn't tell us this!"

"A guy?" asked Naga, with an incredulous expression on her face, "No way! What could he see in you?"

Lina sputtered indignantly, "_What? _It's not like that—hey, what do you mean what could he see in me goldfish feces!"

Sylphiel looked at Val, and quietly asked, "Excuse me but what…what is the relationship between Gourry dear and this Lina?"

Val turned his gold eyes on her, "Why ask?" he questioned her softly.

She blushed, covering part of her face with her right hand, "I—I'm just curious," she replied lamely.

Val turned away, leading her down a long light blue hall, "I believe they met during their wandering years," he began slowly, turning over the words carefully, "He made it his duty to be her 'guardian' whatever that means. They eventually came into our services, since she is a really good sorceress no matter what her tempter, and he a good swordsman, no matter how dense he really is."

"And their relationship?" Sylphiel prompted gently.

Val shrugged, "Debatable. They deny everything, but it always looks like something more than just friendship, or even a sibling relationship. In the end, no one knows."

"I see," Sylphiel said softly, biting her lip.

Val glanced at her worriedly, before stopping, and opening a door, to reveal a large room that although very bright due to the large windows, was sparsely furnished. It had a bed, a dresser, some chairs, a small table, and that was pretty much it. As she looked around the room, Val scratched the back of his head and said, "I know it doesn't have much furniture, but it's clean now that all the dust has been cleared. It used to be a guest room, hence the lack of furniture. If you need anything, just any of the servants, they'll be perfectly happy to help you out."

Sylphiel walked around the room in wonderment, before her expression suddenly clouded. She turned slowly around to face Val, and asked, "And when will I come to you, Val-ou?"

Val raised an eyebrow, "Come to me?" he asked, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his dark brown pants, "If you really want to see me, I guess you could always just ask one of the servants where I am, they'll generally know—"

"You know what I mean, Val-ou," Sylphiel cut in, looking at her feet, her face pale.

Val's golden eyes widened in comprehension, as he drew in a shaky breath, "Do you really think I'm that kind of guy?" he asked his voice harsh.

"It-it is hard to understand your intentions then, Val-ou," Sylphiel said softly, keeping her eyes firmly fixated on the ground, "If that isn't what you wanted, then why did Gaav-sama give me to you?"

Val cursed Gaav under his breath, raking his hand through his hair, "Look," he said, turning back to Sylphiel, "Gaav and me go way back. It's complicated, but anyway, he thinks he's doing me a favor. I don't want those kinds of 'favors'. You're not in any way required to…be affectionate or anything around those lines, towards me. Got it?"

Sylphiel let go of a breath that she had been holding in relief, "Thank you Val-ou," she said earnestly, looking him in the eye for the first time, "But what will I do here then?"

Val shrugged, "Once all the gown fittings are done, remind me to introduce you to Amelia or Filia. They'll know where to put you. Actually, if I forget, just ask one of the servants, or look for a short black haired girl, or a girl with really long blond hair."

Sylphiel sank into a pretty curtsy, "Again, I thank you, Val-ou," she whispered.

"Not at all," replied Val, waving off her thanks, "It's what a man should do."

Sylphiel smiled, "But still."

Val flushed, and scratched the back of his head again, walking out of the room. "If you need anything, just ask, okay?" he called out, from over his shoulder.

"Alright," said Sylphiel, turning around, and beginning to rearrange the furniture, while humming to herself.

Val grinned, and left.

--

"I hate this," Lina grumbled, tugging at the elbow length sleeves of her light yellow dress, "Why the hell do I even have to wear this thing? It's pointless! What happens if you get attacked, hm? I can't do anything in this dress!"

Filia snorted, smoothing out the front of her wedding dress. It had taken three days of frenzied work, but now it was done. It was a backless dress, with a high collar that wrapped around her neck. The white satin skirt was drawn highly at her waist by a pale blue ribbon, and smoothly flowed down to her feet. The intricate lace veil was painstakingly arranged around her golden hair to the effect of a halo. The overall effect was something like an angel, and all the seamstresses nodded in satisfaction.

"Lina," Filia said calmly, "Who's going to attack me at the wedding? That would be bringing down L-sama's wrath, and that is something that all of us fear above all things. Nothing will happen."

Lina ran her fingers through her red hair in frustration, "That's what everyone says, but who knows? Some nut could run through and wreck serious damage if we're not prepared. So why the hell do I have to wear this dress?"

"You're to be my maid of honor, so you need to wear a dress," replied Filia, tweaking the veil to the side a bit, "Simple."

"Besides," said Gourry, leaning against a pillar, "It won't stop you from doing anything, Lina. You can still throw fireballs and stuff!"

Lina shot a glare at Gourry, "That's not the point! Even if I can still fire off spells, if I can't dodge them, I'm doomed!"

"Don't worry about that," said Gourry confidently, "I'll protect you."

Silence reigned for a few moments, with a red Lina and an oblivious Gourry, until the door squeaked open. Sylphiel poked her head in hesitantly, "Ano…may I speak to Amelia-san or Filia-hime sama?"

Filia and Amelia, wearing a light pink dress, turned around. Filia looked at Sylphiel in confusion, "I am Filia. May I ask who you are?"

Sylphiel dipped into a curtsy, "Sylphiel Nels Rada, hime-sama."

Filia stroked her chin with her finger, "Sylphiel…Sylphiel…oh! The girl that was a gift to Val, right?" she exclaimed, quickly crossing the room, and taking Sylphiel's hands, "I can't tell you how happy I am that you're here!"

"R-really?" asked Sylphiel bemused, "Why is that?"

"Because maybe my brother will finally get a love life of course!" Filia said, with her blue eyes shining, "This is great! He's never had time to meet girls, and now you'll be hanging around with him a lot, so maybe we'll be hearing the wedding bells ring soon!"

Sylphiel blushed, "I-I really doubt that, hime-sama…anyway, Val-ou told that you would know where to put me?" she asked hopefully.

"Where to put you?" repeated Filia blankly, "Oh, I see…well, what are your talents?"

Sylphiel bit her lip, and looked down, "I am a very good healer, hime-sama…" she said softly, "At least that was what they once said at the temple—"

"And she's a good cook!" Gourry piped up.

Lina shot a surprised look at Gourry, "You know her?" she asked, her reddish eyes narrowed.

Gourry nodded, "Yeah, I met her a long time ago. This was before I met you, and it was at this temple."

Lina shot a wary glance at Sylphiel, "I see…" she said slowly.

Filia nodded, and smiled brightly, "Perfect, you can serve at the healing center in the palace, if you like. We don't have that many healers, so you'll be a big help."

"I would like that," Sylphiel said, smiling shyly.

"Good!" Filia said, motioning for Amelia, "Go show Sylphiel the way to the healing center, alright Amelia?"

Amelia quickly curtsied, and took hold of Sylphiel's arm, "This way Sylphiel-san…" she said, leading the cleric out of the room.

As the door once again clicked shut, Filia sighed, and put her hand to her forehead. "Stupid Val," she groused, twitching her skirts, "he should have assigned her as his personal maid! That guy really doesn't know what he's doing!"

Lina shrugged, "That's Val for you," she said, fidgeting in the dress, "But that girl should get his attention. Right, Gourry?" she asked, turning to the blond swordsman.

Gourry blinked at Lina, "Huh? What do you mean?"

Lina sighed, and shook her head, "Never mind Gourry. …were you…involved with that girl before?" she asked awkwardly.

Gourry tilted his head to the left, "I don't understand what you're asking, Lina."

Both Martina and Naga laughed. "Oh our little Lina is growing up now!" cackled Martina, holding her sides, "I must thank Zoamelgustar-sama!"

"Ohohohohohoho indeed! I never expected you to get a guy Inverse!"

Lina flushed red once more, "Shut up! I already said it's not like that!"

"Not like what, Lina?" asked Gourry in a puzzled voice.

Lina growled, and decided that enough was enough. "_Fireball!" _she shrieked, hurling them at Martina and Naga, "_Fireball, fireball, fireball, fireball!"_

Filia sighed as destruction reigned with Lina hurling fireballs everywhere, Martina and the rest of the seamstresses dodging them best she could, Naga hurling Freeze Arrows back, and Gourry attempting (very unsuccessfully) to restrain Lina. That was life after all, and what could she do about it?

The door creaked open slowly, to reveal Val carefully creeping in. "Hey," he said, looking over her dress critically, "That looks nice."

She smirked, "Too bad it's a waste on that namagomi," she said with a trace of bitterness in her voice, as she twirled around to admire how the skirt flared out.

"Oh well," Val said, shrugging, "So now what prompted the latest tantrum?" he asked, nodding towards the still furious Lina, being somewhat held back by a panting Gourry.

"Lina questioned the relationship between that girl you brought and Gourry, and Martina and Naga began to tease her about it," Filia explained, easily dodging an awry fireball.

Val grinned thoughtfully, "I actually want to know that myself…" he said to himself quietly.

Unfortunately, Filia heard. "Oh?" she asked, nudging him, "can we actually be sure of having an heir soon?"

Val rolled his eyes, swatting Filia on the head, "You're a pervert sometimes, little sister," he said affectionately.

Filia crossed her arms, "Deny it all you like Val," she said haughtily, raising her head, "But I know attraction when I see it."

Val patted her on the head, "Do you?" he asked, smiling, "Then I wish you the best of luck."

Filia wrapped her arms more tightly around her, "Cephied knows I'll need all the luck I can get," she replied softly.

"That's true," said Val, his smile slipping away, "The wedding is soon. Are you sure about all of this?"

Filia shrugged, "Do I have a choice?" she asked simply, "It's for the good of our people, it's not like I can just walk away from all that."

--

A/N: …okay this chapter had nearly no Filia/Xellos action, because I wanted to focus on Sylphiel/Valgaav for once…I'm sorry! But do please review! And I'll try to update as soon as possible. (But I am going off to camp for 3 weeks, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to…)


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